AASL NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 15, 2000
Contact: Steven Hofmann
Phone: 312-280-4389
Fax: 312-664-7459
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has announced five ICONnect ICPrize for Collaboration Through Technology winners for 2000. The announcement was made January 15 at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
The annual ICPrize is awarded as part of AASL's ICONnect technology initiative. Prior to 1999, the ICPrize was known as the ICONnect Mini-Grant. The current name reflects the true nature of the prize. The I and C represent the basic elements of the ICPrize: Information, Integration, Innovation, Curriculum, Collaboration and Connection--all integral parts of an ICPrize-winning curriculum unit.
Each ICPrize recipient will receive $1,000 to be used toward the purchase of technology for use in the library media center or to support travel to attend a state or national conference. The applying school library media specialist was required to be a personal member of ALA/AASL and to collaborate with a teacher on the curriculum project submitted. Each curriculum project had to include the use of Internet resources.
The recipients and their projects are:
Charlotte Bruce, school library media specialist; Catherine Colglazier, participating teacher - McLean High School, McLean, Va.
Students were asked to write an original piece of spy fiction, either a short story or portion of a novel (including overall plot summary so that selection could be placed within the larger context) of ten or more pages. The selection submitted had to feature a piece of espionage equipment, to follow established standards of good fiction writing, and to reflect the class research (guest lecturers, Internet resources, field trip to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters) in order to establish realistic espionage plot and characterizations. Objectives of the project were to: level the playing field with regards to creative writing; foster creativity and originality; harness resources unique to the school and to the location of the school; and motivate, stimulate, encourage students to use their talents and backgrounds. Content areas: English, Creative Writing. Grade levels: 10, 11, 12.
Barbara Jinkins, school library media specialist; Patti Flowers and Shannon Rodrigues, participating teachers - Edna Mae Fielder Elementary School, Katy, Texas
After reading biographies, fifth grade students developed road map timelines of the individuals' lives. Facts about that time period including presidents, U.S. and world events, medical discoveries, and inventions were researched following the Big 6 format and utilizing print resources, CDs, e-mail, videos, and the Internet. These facts were placed around the map and discussed during oral presentations. This project increased the students' abilities to identify appropriate resources, use reliable Internet sites, format bibliographies, and enhanced note-taking, communication, presentation, and critical thinking skills. The class also developed a slide show featuring people interviewed via e-mail, further strengthening technology skills. Content areas: Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Technology, Art. Grade level: 5.
Patt Moser, school library media specialist; Laura Byerlee, Ross Lenet, Ann Wasserman, Paula Wang, participating teachers - Sidwell Friends Upper School, Washington, D.C.
To learn about the various invertebrate and vertebrate phyla in the animal kingdon, students in ninth grade Biology each researched an animal's phylum, created a PowerPoint presentation about it, and then taught their classmates. Biology teachers, the library media specialist, and the computer teacher collaborated on the project. Teachers learned how to create a Web page for a description of the class assignment. Students learned how to create a PowerPoint presentation and how to evaluate Web sites for reliability. The resulting student-produced presentations were well received and an effective way for the entire class to learn about the animal kingdom. Content area: Biology. Grade level: 9.
Sue A. Roberts, library media specialist; Larry Wiley, participating teacher - Inglemoor High School, Kenmore, Wash.
Called "Multimedia Fitness," the project demonstrated that necessity is the mother of invention. The Inglemoor High School gymnasium is under construction, leaving the Physical Education teachers scrambling to find a place for their classes to be held during rainy Seattle days (hint: "the library"), and a curriculum that involved fitness but didn't entail doing jumping jacks in the library. Using the Big 6 model, "Multimedia Fitness" asked the students to: think of a real life issue that affects their own fitness; frame a question about the issue that they really wanted to know the answer to; seek out answers to the question by searching the World Wide Web as well as an online magazine index; evaluate the quality of sources on the Web; use and organize the information into a HyberCard or Hyberstudio presentation; and judge the process and product. Content areas: Physical Education, Library Information Skills, Technology. Grade levels: 10-12.
Deborah Svenson, library media specialist; Amy Elliott and Lori McKinney, participating teachers - Forestwood Middle School, Flower Mound, Texas
Two Texas teachers collaborated with the school library media specialist to improve their unit on the novel Woodsong, by Gary Paulsen, for students with little understanding of Alaska or the Iditarod dog sled race described in the book. By collaborating with the school library media specialist, the teachers traveled to Alaska and gave their students the opportunity to become partners on the Iditarod journey. Through daily e-mail letters, live video-conferencing from Anchorage, digital images and a daily journal on the teacher/student Web page, the drama of the Iditarod and the frozen beauty of Alaska enveloped the classroom giving students a virtual first hand view of the race and Alaska. Content areas: Reading, Math, Geography, English, Art, Public Speaking, Library and Computer Skills. Grade level: 7.
Members of the 2000 ICONnect ICPrize Subcommittee were Elizabeth Miller (chair), College of Library & Information Science, University of South Carolina (Charlotte); Kay Haskell, Upper Merion Area Middle School (King of Prussia, Pa.); Suzanne Hawley, Laurel Oak Elementary School (Naples, Fla.); Allison Kaplan, Education Resource Center, University of Delaware (Newark); Deborah Levitov, Lincoln (Neb.) Public Schools; Judith Lira, High Plains Regional Library System (Greeley, Colo.); Mary Anne Parks, MSD Washington Township Schools (Indianapolis, Ind.); and Pam Spencer (Virginia Beach, Va.).
Information about the ICONnect technology initiative is available via the Internet. Application guidelines and evaluation criteria for the 2001 ICPrize will be available on the ICONnect Web site after February 1, 2000.
The ICONnect technology initiative receives financial support from Follett Library Resources, The Gale Group, Winnebago Software Company, Brodart Books and Brodart Automation, Grolier Publishing, and Linworth Publishing.
AASL is a division of the American Library Association.
-30-